Last Night's Dinner #79: Berenjenas Rellenas (Stuffed Eggplant)

Alright guys, I finally finished my project and got back in the kitchen last night!


Meat-Stuffed Eggplants Spiced with Nutmeg

I decided to try out a new recipe from my new cookbook - Cooking from the Heart of Spain. And it was a winner!



Here's what you'll need:
a little less than a pound of ground beef
4 slices of bacon, chopped
1 large eggplant, cut in half lengthwise
1/2 cup of basic tomato sauce or store bought
1 cup of freshly grated Manchego cheese
1/4 cup water
1 cup chopped onions
4 garlic cloves chopped
a couple of pinches of freshly grated nutmeg
1-2 tsp of kosher salt (to taste)
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs olive oil

step 1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees.



step 2. Place eggplant on baking sheet, score the tops in a criss-cross pattern and then rub tops with 1 tbs of olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes or until tender.



step 3. In the meantime, heat up the rest of the oil and add bacon. Cook for a minute then add onion and garlic - cook until onion pieces are translucent (approximately 3 minutes).



step 4. Add ground beef and make sure to separate into small bits. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper while the meat is still a little pink. Add tomato sauce and water. Taste to make sure that you're seasoning is right - make sure you put enough salt. Cook until most of the liquid evaporates and all that's left is the natural oil from the beef. Lower heat and simmer with lid on for about 20 minutes (until the mixture is pretty dry).



step 5. Scoop out the eggplant from the shells and add to the meat mixture. You may want to cut up the eggplant pieces into bite-size pieces. Be careful not to tear the skins - you'll be restuffing them with the meat mixture. Continue cooking the meat mixture for about 5 minutes or so.



step 6. Scoop meat mixture into eggplant shells/skins. Sprinkle cheese on top and put back in the oven until cheese bubbles.

This would go great with a simple salad.

*recipe adapted from Cooking from the Heart of Spain